Fire-escape.



PATENTED NOV. 5, 1907.

F. J. BRYANT. FIRE ESCAPE. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 20. 1905.

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F. J. BRYANT.

FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLIOATION I'ILBD 11110.20. 1905.

PATENT @FFIQE.

FREDERIO I. BRYANT,

OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

No. 869,959. Specification of Letters Patent. Patented NOV. 5, 1907.

Application filed December 20, 1905- Serial No. 292,526

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERIC .I. BRYANT, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to improvements in (ire-escapes or lire-lar'lders, and the object of my improvement is to provide a fire-escape which will be ready at all times for use, which may be stored in the minimum of space when not inuse, which will be self-ventilated and thereby kept cool during exposure to the heat of a burning structure and which will in particular permit of the maximum safety of descent of persons from a burning structure and of ascent from the ground to windows or other openings in such a structure for the rescue of persons therein.

A further object of my invention is to provide means for the lowering of persons from a burning structure by means of the lire-ladder.

One feature of my invention resides in the rungholder and the means of connecting the rung-holders together. In the preferred form of my invention herein particularly described and shown, this rung-holder consists of a two-armed member shaped to form a V in the point of which one end of the rung is secured and in the ends of the sides or arms of which are secured chains, cables or other flexible connecting means bywhich the rung-holder is connected to the rung-holders adjacent to it; that is, next above and below it. The lower arm of the rung-holder is preferably sharpened or pointed, or otherwise formed to grip automatically the opposed wall of the building under the weight of the person using the lire-escape. The result of this construction is that each pair of rung-holders will, when the weight of the person using the lire-escape comes upon the rung held by them, swing automatically, the upper arm swinging outwardly and the lower arm swinging inwardly and upwardly, assuming a position substantially at right angles to the wall of the building so as to grip it firmly under the pressure of the weight of the user and thereby giving him a firm footing and preventing the rung from swinging laterally.

In the drawings illustrating the principle of my invention and the best mode now known to me of applying that principle, Figure 1 is a general perspective view showing my new fire-escape in position upon a building; Fig. 2 is a front view of my new fire-escape; Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are details showing various ways of suspending the rung-holders; Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are details showing different forms of rung; and Figs. 10, 11 and 12 are details showing different ways of securing the rung in the rung-holder. Fig. 13 shows the form of chain preferred to be used by me.

The ladder portion of the fire-escape is made up of a series of sections connected together, each section comprising suspensory members, such as the chains 11, (Fig. 1), cables I), 1) (Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive) or other suitable 1 devices having the necessary flexibility to permit the rung-holders c, c, c to swing under the pressure of the foot; rung-holders 0 having two arms formed with holes (Z in their free ends through which are passed loops or rings a to which the links of the chains a are attached; and tubular rungs. f which are mounted in the bend or angle formed at the junction of the arms 9, g of the mug holders 0. Preferably the lower arm g is formed with a pointed or sharpened end adapted to dig or cut into the material of the opposed wall h of the building, when the pressure of'the foot or pull of the hand swings the lower arm g upward and inward and the upper arm g outward. This construction of a pair of shaped rungholders mounted to swing automatically under the weight of the person using the ladder and thereby to engage llrmly in the wall of the building is an important feature of my invention; for, it insures a firm and, therefore, safe footing for the user. In Fig. l, the lower pair of rung-holders are shown in full lines as supporting the weight of the user and as having assumed thereunder a position at substantially right angles to the opposed wall h,.while the dotted lines show the position of the rung-holders when relieved of that weight.

In Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive are shown different methods by which the suspensory members (cables I), b in these cases) are secured to the rung-holders c, c, c. In Fig. 3 there is shown a continuous cable I) which passes between the rung-holder c and ears 2' which are punched out of the material of the rung-holder and which, after the insertion of the cable, are hammered down upon the cable to secm'e the rung-holder in place thereon. In Fig. 4 the cable 12 is passed through a channel bored through the material of the rung-holder c. In Fig. 5 the cable I) is secured by passing it through the holes or eyes 01, while in Fig. 6 the cable b is looped around the ends of the arms of the rung-holder and is held in place thereon by the lugs y.

In Figs. 7 to 9 inclusive there are illustrated three kinds of rungs which may be taken as types of those that may be used in my new escape. All these rungs are formed with non-slippable surfaces. In Fig. 7 the surface is roughened by pebbling; in Fig. 8, the surface is milled; and in Fig. 9 it is channeled or fluted. By thus providing the tread of the rung with a roughened sin-face, the firmness of the foothold or of the grasp of the hand of the user is made greater, a most desirable feature in this class of structure.

In Figs. 10, 11 and 12 there are shown three different ways of securing the end of the rung in the rung-holder. The end of the rung may be slitted as shown in Fig. 7 and after the rung end is passed through the hole or eye in the rung-holder, the slitted portions are bent outwardly, as shown in Fig. 10. Fig. 11 shows the end of l the rung upset and knurled. The rung may, if desired, be formed with a shoulder j an d be provided with a screw-threaded end adapted to engage a threaded hole in the rung (see Fig. 9), or the end of the rung may be made with a shoulder j and the screw-threads on the end omitted, the end projecting through the hole in the rung being upset to form a retaining flange or collar 7c (Fig. 12).

In Fig. 13 there is illustrated the form of chain which is particularly well adapted to use in my new fire-escape. This chain is weldless, and is therefore free from latent defects due to flaws in the weld of ordinary chains. It is, therefore, most safe and gives to the fire-escape a strength and factor of safety not otherwise to be obtained. Moreover, this chain is extremely flexible and permits the rotation of the rung-holder under the influence of the weight of the user, and the packing in small compass of the fire-escape when it is not in use. Again, this chain is non-kinkable and allows the fire-escape to be placed in operative position without loss of time due to tangling and kinking of the suspensory members.

To the lower end of the ladder of my new fire-escape there are secured at intervals a number of flat bars m and to the ends of the chains a are secured hooks n adapted to snap into the rings 2. This portion of the fire-escape may be wrapped around the body of a person overcome by smoke, and the hooks n having been engaged with the rings 6 to form a sling for the body, the person may be lowered by means of the fire-escape and the operator or user may thereafter follow, using the fire-escape as a ladder in the ordinary manner.

I am also aware that it is old to provide means for keeping the rungs away from the wall of the building, as by means of brackets in those cases in which the rungs are attached directly to the suspensory members; as in the patent to Neely, No. 663,922, Dec. 18, 1900; or by the provision of rung-holders to which the suspensory members are attached, as in the patent to Yost, No. 726,389 dated April 28, 1903; or by means of hinged members, as in thepatent to Kimball and Barrett, No. 283,617 dated August 21, 1883. But so far as known to me, I am the first to provide a fireladder made up of steps rotatable between the suspensory members under the weight of the user, each step comprising a pair of cooperating bent rung-holders, a rung mounted therein and flexible suspensory members which are secured to the free ends of said rung-holders and between which said rung-holders are mounted free I to rotate to engage the lower arm thereof with the wall of the building, said lower arm assuming a position substantially at right angles to the opposed wall it of the building What I claim is:

1. A firecscape made up of sections, each section consisting' of a rung; a pair of rung-holders provided with two arms bent at an angle to each other, the ends of said rung being supported and held trom'the wall of the build ing by said rung-holders; and flexible suspensory members secured to the ends of said rung-holders and permitting the rotation thereof under the weight of the user; the angle between the arms of said rung-holder being such that the lower arm assumes a position substantially at right angles to the wall of the building under the weight of the user.

2. A fire-escape made up of sections, each section consisting' of a rung; a pair of rung-holders provided with two arms bent at an angle to each other, the ends of said rung being; supported and held from the wall of the building by said rung-holders; and flexible suspensory members secured to the ends of said rung-holders and permitting the rotation thereof under the weight of the user; the angle between the arms of said rung-holder being such that the lower arm assumes a position substantially at right angles to the wall of the building under the weight of the user and the end of said lower arm being pointed to grip the wall against which it is pressed.

FREDERIC J. BRYANT.

Witnesses James HAMILTON,

M. HAMILTON. 

